The How
by remaerd x
Summary: Tai recalls the moments in his life that led up to what he now concludes as inevitable: falling in love with his best friend. (Taiora, in progress)
1. The Who

_My name is Tai Kamiya, and I'm not one for romance. _

_All of that stuff is pretty lame if you ask me. This is going to sound real cheesy, and, of course, cliché, but I didn't know about all of the cool stuff behind falling in love until I, well, fell in love. Funny concept, right? It was just never anything I figured was for me. The funnier thing, though, is that I never knew I was falling in love since day one. Little moments add up. I'm a bit of a hypocrite. All of that stuff _is_ lame, but when it finally happens to you… you'll understand. I didn't want this to happen at all, of course. I mean, when you're with someone _in that sense,_ you're making yourself vulnerable. You're naked, and I'm not talking physically. You're allowing yourself to have this person come into your life and give them the power to stomp all over your heart. What's worse is if it's your best friend you're in love with and you run that risk of ruining your friendship forever. Is it worth it? With her, I'd say: hell yeah._

_When you fall in love, you never quite forget all of the "firsts." Like, you know, the first time you find out she likes you back. Or, the first time you gather all of your courage to finally kiss her. But what I think is super underrated is the _how_. _How_ did I fall in love with this girl? _How_ did we finally become, in lack of other words, a freaking awesome couple? But, before I get to any of that, I have to tell you the basics. I mean, come on, every story has to start somewhere. I can't tell you squat about our story if you don't know anything about her! If I told you everything, though, we'd be here for a long, long time. No, I'll just tell you the very basics, and I guess you could call it a "first," but it leads to the how and that starts with,_

**The Who.**

Come on, come on, come on. I repeatedly tapped the tip of my pencil against my desk, hitting its surface impatiently. Today was a huge day – time for the big match. My school's soccer team, which I am quite proud to say I'm part of (I mean, who wouldn't want me on their team?), is playing against our rival team. It's supposed to be the game of the year. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but this game was kind of a big deal for us. For me, at least. I know I'm only in fifth grade, but soccer has become a huge part of my life. When I play soccer, I'm focused. Not only are my team mates counting on me, but I'm counting on myself to meet my personal goals. Besides, it's way too fun of a sport to not play.

The bell finally rang, and I bolted out of my seat and ran out the door. I could've sworn I heard my teacher say, "Slow down!" but my mind's running way too fast to function normally. I'm way too excited – too pumped up. I spotted one of my team mates down the hall, seeing him wave frantically at me.

"Hey! Tai! Did you hear the news?" he shouted. I passed by him, still running.

"What news? Nevermind! Just tell me on the field! See you out there!" I exclaimed.

"I guess you'll find out yourself!" he remarked.

What could that mean? Oh well. I was full of adrenaline and had no patience to stop the momentum now. I slipped into the locker room and quickly dressed, making sure to safely tuck away my trademark goggles, and headed out towards the field. Ah, the field. A vast sea of luscious green, ready to be stomped all over by some little kids kicking a ball around. Nothing seriously gets better than this.

Wait a minute.

I had to do a double take once I scanned the field, because I thought that, maybe, in my rush to get here, I was imagining things. Sure enough, I wasn't. There was a girl at the edge of the field, near the benches for the home team. Her short, bright orange hair caught my eye, but it was what she was doing that was _really _out of the ordinary. It looked almost like she was dancing, but as I started slowly walking toward her, I realized she was kicking up a soccer ball. She had a routine going on – first, using the side of her heel to hoist the ball up to her thigh, and then she'd lift it up to her head. She'd jump up to receive the ball, headbutting it and aiming to send it a few inches in front of her. Then, she would catch the ball again with her thigh, dropping it down to her heel, and repeat. Not once did the ball drop nor did she miss. Somehow, she was elegant. Hm. Not bad… _for a girl._

I wonder what she was doing here.

She was dressed in a soccer uniform – funny, since it was the same one I was wearing – so she must be on the girls' team. I didn't know they had the exact same uniform. You'd think those girls would be wearing uniforms adorned with flowers and unicorns in, of course, the hottest shade of pink you could find. But, hey, I've gotta admit, she knows what she's doing.

"Heeey!" I yelled, waving my arm wide in the air. She glanced over, and then grabbed the ball with both of her hands. She smiled, brushing aside some of her orange locks out of her face. She began walking towards me, never averting her gaze away from mine. I gulped.

"You must be Tai," she stated. What?! A psychic?!

"H-How did you know my name?" I asked, stunned.

"I was told the first person I'd meet is a boy with big, brown hair, because he would be the first person here on the field." She took a look around, turning her head to both sides and then facing me again, grinning. "And it looks like you fit the description, so, hi." She reached out and put her right hand toward me. I raised an eyebrow, and reluctantly shook her hand.

"Yeah, that'd be me, alright. But who told you that?" I inquired.

"Oh, Coach! He sure is nice. I can't wait to play with you guys. Big game ahead! I'm a little nervous since it'll be my first game with the team today."

"_Hey! Tai! Did you hear the news?" _

"_What news? Nevermind! Just tell me on the field! See you out there!"_

"_I guess you'll find out yourself!" _

Tick, tick, tick, tick… ding. It finally hit me.

"Wait…" I said cautiously. "You're going to be playing in our team? Today? An all-boys' team?" I was in shock. It didn't make any sense.

She smiled, nodding her head. "Yes! I know. Weird. Say all you want about it because I've just about heard it all." Nervously, she laughed and scratched her head, frowning. "I'm not really as confident as I should be since everyone's been letting me down about how I can't play for a boys' team."

"Why can't you be on the girls' team? I mean, not that I don't think you're capable of playing for us," I asked. Though I didn't know her, and I've never seen her play, I really did mean that. Something about her was just telling me to not underestimate her skills.

Her frown formed back into a smile. "Thanks, Tai. I know we just met but that means a lot. I sure hope the other boys are okay with this."

"Oh, they will be! I mean, it is a little weird, but we're all cool!"

Okay, I might've been overhyping our team. Come on, a girl on a boys' team?! I didn't even know that was allowed. But the poor girl looked so sad and if any of this were true, I wouldn't want her to feel unwelcomed. Already that frown of hers just kills me. I guess she'd be alright for the team… Just as long as I'm the one who shoots the winning goal for our team today, anyway!

The coach and the rest of the team eventually came by and we started our warm-ups. The whole time, I couldn't keep my eyes off this new girl. Embarrassing, because I'm pretty sure she caught me staring at her a few times. Of course, I played it cool and pretended to be too focused to notice her, and I hope that trick was working. It was true – the first thing the coach told us before starting was that she was the new addition because she was too advanced for the girls' team. Yikes. I probably should've paid attention to everything else Coach was saying because I didn't even catch her name. What's wrong with me? I'm never this distracted! Well, most of the time.

I concluded that I had completely lost it when the game finally started. We were already more than half way into the game and we were tied, 1-1. Focus, Tai. Don't let some girl distract you. I'm not even at the age where girls _should _be distracting me! Maybe I'm finally maturing.

Naaaah.

But it didn't explain why I wasn't being myself. I had the ball passed to me three times, only for it to be stolen by the other team because I was looking over at the girl. She was panting heavily, looking over at me, as if to ask, "What's wrong?" If only I could give her an answer. I really need to concentrate – the game's almost over and at this point we're usually winning!

"Tai!" I heard. I turned around, and saw the girl running towards me. We both began to jog together toward our goal, where one of our players was dribbling the ball away from the other team. "I know it's not a good time to talk right now but have some courage! Okay? I'm trying, too!" She patted my shoulder with one hand and took off sprinting toward the ball.

I smiled. All I've been getting from the other guys were, "Tai, cut it out!" "Get your head in the game, man!" and the classic, "Stupid Tai!" But her words of encouragement, out of all of the negative energy I was getting, was uplifting. One of my team mates passed the ball over to me, hitting my chest. This is it. I began dribbling the ball as fast I could toward our goal, being tailed by a rival team member, pushing into me. I wasn't going to let him overpower me.

"Tai, pass it to me! I'm open!" the girl shouted to my right. I heard her, alright, but I wasn't listening. I was too stuck in my own world now to let anyone else but me score the winning goal for our team. I rammed the rival team member toward my left, shoving him out of the way. This was it.

"Now's my chance to shoot! Here I go!" I yelled.

And then it happened so suddenly. I found myself losing the ball, and pummeling head first into the ground. Someone from the other team came from out of nowhere, skidding to the ground toward my feet and causing me to trip over myself. I landed hard, but nothing was hurting more than knowing that I screwed it up for the team. Nervously, I looked up to see who took the ball. To my surprise, the girl had kept alongside me the whole time. In slow motion, she bent her knees and sprung herself up into the air toward the ball, hitting it as hard as she could with her head, into the goal! The goalie fell to the ground as he tried to block the ball, but to no avail. We won.

Cheers from our team were heard all around the field. I was too flabbergasted to really take in what just happened, and suddenly I heard, "Nice pass, Tai."

I looked up to see the girl with her hand out to help me up. I accepted, groggily getting up from the ground, my head and heart pounding. She continued, "I thought you were going to take the shot yourself."

I turned red, trying to avoid eye contact. "Remember, there's no 'I' in 'team'! Hahahahahahahah," I nervously laughed. She giggled, nudging me at my waist with her elbow. She smiled, saying, "I told you all you needed was a little courage."

The other guys came running toward us – well, more specifically, toward her – chanting, "So-ra! So-ra!"

_Sora_. That must be her name. Unique. I think there was more to this girl than meets the eye. One thing's for sure: I'm going to have to get used to playing with her on the team.

"Sora," I said to myself, smiling. There really is no "I" in "team," and for a moment, I forgot that. Thanks for the reminder, Sora.

"Yeah?" she asked. I jumped, thinking she didn't hear me.

"O-Oh, nothing! Great job today. I think we're going to be great team mates," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. She flashed me a grin, shaking her head.

"No," she disagreed. I raised my eyebrow and turned my head, confused. Her amber eyes looked into mine, locking itself in its gaze, as if urging me to heed her words. I couldn't help but smile in return. "We're going to be great friends, Tai."

And I believed her.

* * *

**Author's note: **You know, the concept of this story sounded cool in my head but now, actually writing it out, I'm starting to have doubts. It was particularly hard to write about Tai not passing the ball to Sora, which happened in the show. The story will consist of the who, the what, the when, the where, the why, and the how - moments that have led up to Tai and Sora falling in luuurve. It'll be at least six chapters total, if not less. I've only written Taiora one-shots and one super short story up until this point, so let's see how this goes! :) For those who have read some of my past stuff, I'm back, for now! Hopefully I can keep this up. To be honest, I wanted to scrap this out, but I was a little more than halfway done writing this piece and was, like, "Eh, let's give it a shot." Let me know what you think by reviewing!

_Edit 08/20/14_: Added Tai's introduction of himself in the first sentence to clarify the story will be in his PoV. Thanks to shrimproll for the suggestion!


	2. The What

_Thinking about it now, I really was clueless about love when I was younger. I never associated any of my actions as a result of "being in love." The only thing I knew at the time was that I would do anything for her. _

**The What. **

"Hmm. How about this one?!"

"No. Absolutely not."

"This one's soooo cool, though!"

"Tai…. Do you really think she's going to like a stuffed Godzilla? How about, you know, a normal gift? For example, chocolate. _White_ chocolate. It's tradition!"

I groaned in frustration as I pushed opened the door to exit the store. This is seriously the last time I go shopping with Kari last minute. Okay, I guess I brought this on myself. Tomorrow's White Day, which is kind of a big deal to girls. Guys, who obviously get the worse end of the stick, are supposed to give girls a gift – usually sweets – a month after Valentine's Day. I guess you could call it "answer day," because it's kind of like a return gift you're supposed to give to the girl who gave you gifts on Valentine's Day. This girl, of course, would be Sora, a.k.a. the most difficult girl to buy gifts for. I mean, I'm still traumatized from the time she ignored me for two days straight for giving her a hair pin for her birthday. Plus, guys have it worse because we're supposed to give girls gifts _three times _the price of what they gave us! As if I couldn't be any more broke. My job as a Digidestined wasn't exactly bringing me any income!

"Well, Sora's different. I can't just give her a '_normal gift,'"_ I retorted, causing Kari to shake her head and roll her eyes. She continued on, making me quickly trail after her. "Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm just a little pressured to get her something nice is all," I confessed.

We passed by dozens of stores. Nothing. I stopped, peering into the one we ran into next. A big, red sign sat at the store front, stating my impending doom boldly in white font: "WHITE DAY TOMORROW, SUPER SALE."

I sighed, putting my palms against the glass window and lightly banging my head against it. I felt a light pat on my back, and turned my head towards Kari. Her eyebrows were furrowed, lips slanted at an angle. She pulled back her hand to cross her arms. "Tai, "she said sternly. "I'm sure she'll like whatever you get her. You're thinking way too hard about this."

"Look, I appreciate your help, Kari," I said. "But you don't know Sora like I do. You weren't there when she got mad at me the last time I gave her something! Even then, it has to be _perfect_."

We entered another store – one filled with sweets and other goodies galore. The aroma of chocolate filled my nostrils, making me practically foam at the mouth. Kari had to nudge me hard in the waist to get me to stop being "such a slob." Hey, I'm a sucker for chocolate! As I rubbed my side from the ache, I browsed through the selections. Alright, I guess chocolate would do. _For now. _I lifted a small, heart-shaped box adorned with a little white bow, reading the inscription. _Assorted fillment, all covered in white chocolate._ Mmm. I closed my eyes just thinking of devouring the whole thing.

"Don't forget who you're shopping for, Tai," Kari remarked. I snapped back into reality and gave a nervous laugh.

"I think these are nice. I mean, I'm getting her other stuff, too, so this can be, like, part one," I stated, firmly gripping the box of chocolates tightly. I nodded my head in self-approval.

"Wait, you're getting her more things, too?" she asked. I continued nodding my head, promptly heading over to the cashier. Kari remained silent until we walked out of the store. I was quite proud of my purchase: part number one of Sora's White Day.

"Can I ask you something?" Kari said quietly to me.

I turned to her and joked, "You just did."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Silly brother. What did Sora get you for Valentine's Day?"

I paused. This makes for an awkward conversation. I'm sure if I tell her, she'll get the wrong idea because she doesn't _get _Sora and me. Our friendship is just weird… unique. I don't know – we're just _us. _Anyone that isn't Sora Takenouchi or Taichi Kamiya just wouldn't understand. I raised my eyebrows, suspiciously responding, "Mmmmm, whyyyyy do you asssskkkkk?"

"Because I want to know if my assumptions are correct, " she said matter-of-factly. I groaned. I trust my own sister, but she would not let me live down this moment for another second of my life. I guess she's already got a collection of embarrassing stories about me so what's one more to add to that?

"Fiiine. I mean, it's not even a _big deal, _anyway! She got me chocolate in the shape of a soccer ball. Assumed wrong, I presume?"

Kari had a sly smiled plastered permanently across her lips, and poked me in the stomach. "What _kind _of chocolate?"

I felt my face grow hot, probably burning bright red at this point. "HonmeiChocosNoBigDeal," I muttered quickly. I began to speed walk past Kari, who was now laughing uncontrollably. I strolled on faster, and felt a tug at my arm. I was pulled back forcibly, and groaned as I awaited more taunts from Kari.

Honmei-choco. Girls give guys honmei-choco on Valentine's day – a fancier, higher quality of chocolate, sometimes shaped like something – if they're … special in their lives. _Usually, _given to a – ugh, I can't even say it with a straight face – _romantic interest, _but it's NOT even like that with Sora and me.

"I'm sorry," Kari stifled out, trying to keep from laughing. "It's cute – it's sweet. Tai, I'm so happy for you."

"It's not like that! She even said herself she only got it because she liked that it was molded to look like a soccer ball. Don't assume anything!" I snapped. I could tell she didn't believe me, as she was squinting her eyes at me and smiling like she had just figured out a difficult puzzle.

"Oh, Tai. You don't even know. You've got it," Kari said. If you're confused now, you can't even imagine how confused _I _was at this point.

"I've got what?" I asked, clearly not understanding. How am I related to this girl? "You're being awfully cryptic and I'm not following."

"You've got the butterflies," she said, poking my stomach again. I gave her a blank stare, waiting for an explanation but twenty seconds of silence followed shortly after her little statement. My curiosity couldn't stand it.

"…The what?" I asked finally, stupefied.

"The butterflies, Tai!" she teased. Yeah, like I'm supposed to know what that means.

"… Again, the _what?"_

Kari sighed in frustration, shaking her head. She placed her hands on my shoulders, firmly gripping them. She intensely exclaimed, "You _obviously_ have feelings for Sora!" My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. How _dare _she even say that? That's just… that's just… No! That is just _wrong. _

"That's – obviously not – how can you even say – I can't even – just – _no_!" I spluttered out, raising my voice louder and, oddly, higher-pitched. My mind was so blown out of proportion from the ridiculousness of such an idea that I couldn't even form words properly, which probably wasn't helping with the whole I-totally-don't-like-Sora-that-way point I was trying to make. I took a deep breath, deciding I needed to maintain a calm composure in order to get my point across. "Okay. I can get where you're coming from – but, Kari, believe me, what Sora and I have is _completely _platonic. Valentine's Day and White Day doesn't always equal romance! I mean, look at you and T.K.! You got him something for Valentine's Day! He's probably getting you something in return! Doesn't mean anything!"

Clearly amused, Kari beamed. "Oh, Tai. Someday you'll see it. That 'what' you're so confused about – the butterflies? You'll feel 'em sooner or later. Say, I've gotta meet with Yolei and the others now. Think you could finish up shopping yourself?"

I nodded, defeated. No matter how much I deny anything, Kari's a stubborn one and she won't listen to a word I say. I gave her a quick hug, joking, "Sis, you're a brat, but thanks for coming with me today. I'll be fine for the rest of the evening."

She left, and although I wasn't arguing with her anymore, the thought of these "butterflies" kept lingering on my mind.

* * *

Ah. Finally done. I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment as I stuffed all of the goodies together into a single big bag. Who would have thought shopping would take so much work? I wasn't entirely sure if Sora would like anything I got her, but, hey, it's the thought that counts and if she gets mad at me again, I'll figure something out with the lovable Tai charm I have. I gulped. Well, I'm hoping I'm not gonna have to pull out the Tai charm out altogether. I've had my share of screw ups with Sora, but this time I think I've got it right.

I strolled down the street, whistling to myself. It was actually quite nice out – a gentle breeze calming the busy atmosphere of people bustling through the streets, despite the warm rays of the sun beating down on us. It would have been a nice day out to play soccer with Sora, but I had told her I procrastinated on one of my homework assignments (which wasn't exactly a lie). Hey, don't judge – I did it for the good of White Day. I can't wait to see the look on her face tomorrow when she opens her presents. I stopped in my tracks. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't be there tomorrow. What if she gets mad at me again? How embarrassing would that be – after all of this difficult time shopping? I'll figure something out, but I concluded I shouldn't be there with her when she opens them. I'll just hope for the best.

"HAH!"

A jolt of sharp pain spread in my shoulder as I felt something shove me to the side, forcing me to drop my bag as I tried to avoid falling. I stumbled on my feet as I was trying to make sense of what was happening. Having recovered my balance, I looked up to see the figure that forced its way into my path grabbing my bag, and taking off running. Was this seriously happening? "HEY! STOP!" I yelled. A passerby had come to my side, asking if I was okay, but I couldn't focus. Oh. My. God. Sora's gifts! I gave the stranger a quick nod, stuttering, "I-I'm fine!" and took off sprinting.

"GET! BACK! HERE! THIEF!" I shrieked. The person had to have been a guy, dressed in a baggy, navy blue hooded sweatshirt and khaki shorts. Weird combination of clothes, I had to note, but whatever – this guy was going _down. _I panted, feeling my pulse racing, trying to imagine myself on the soccer field and running towards my goal.

The thief turned the corner, heading towards the local park. Man, this guy is fast – but he wasn't going to get away with stealing Sora's gifts. All I could hear were gasps of people that we passed by, with constant thudding of our feet pounding against the grass. I nearly slipped as we ran downhill toward the lake. Why was this thief trying to trap himself in a corner by going to the lake? Whatever – this guy does _not _know who he's messing with.

He began to slow down, probably realizing that he was _heading right for the water. _Determined, I bent my knees to build up some momentum, intent on tackling this guy down. He approached the edge of the water, and made a sharp turn around to face me, dropping the bag to the ground. By then, it was too late.

I found myself flying into the air, arms out, teeth gritted – screaming for dramatic effect.

Only, I recognized the guy I was about to pummel into the lake, along with me on top of him.

Davis Motomiya.

Suddenly, my wails went from, "AAARGGGHHHHH" to "AAAARRRrrghhhhuuuhhh?"

His eyes widened in fear as he realized I was about to tackle him, and then he closed his eyes shut, putting his arms in front of his face. He shouted, "NOOOO!" Those five seconds of me throwing myself into the air seemed to have expanded into five hours, because everything was happening in slow motion now. As I flew towards him, a million questions ran in my mind, and suddenly tackling the "thief" into the water wasn't such a good idea anymore.

_SPLASH_.

I felt a rush of water fill up my nostrils, and I'm sure I accidentally swallowed a nasty amount of it – everything suddenly went from slow motion to world-spinning-way-too-fast mode. At first, I saw only darkness, and it terrified me. My body hurt upon the impact of tackling Davis, but my first instinct was to get out of the nasty, most likely contaminated, dirty lake water. We had both hit the muddy floor of the lake since we were on the shallow edge. I jerked my head up and forced my body towards the lake shore, finally gasping for air. I coughed violently, trying to breathe and spit out any water that was still in my mouth. Davis did the same, struggling to get up. I lent him my hand, and we scampered back towards land.

Still coughing, I managed to blurt out, "What – the – HECK – were you – THINKING!"

Soaked, Davis took off his hoodie, tossing it to the side. He laid down with his back to the ground, breathing heavily.

"I thought it would be funny!" he said. I nearly fell on the ground.

"You thought it would be FUNNY to steal someone's bag in public?! My BAG gets STOLEN in PUBLIC, and I'm supposed to think it's _funny?!" _

Davis scratched his head, embarrassed. He chuckled nervously. "Well, I was going to turn around and say, 'Hey, surprise! It's just me!' but then you decided to turn into Superman and tackle me like I'm some bad guy!" He paused. "Okay, I can now see how dumb this was, but it kind of makes for a funny story _now, _right? Kari told me I could catch you by the shopping district and I thought it'd be, I don't know, clever!"

I sighed, bringing myself down to his level. "Don't ever do that again." After a few seconds, I started to laugh, because it _would _be an amusing story to tell Sora later. _Sora_! I got up quickly, and ran over to the shopping bag. I shifted through the items inside, making sure nothing was damaged. All crystal clear – phew.

"Well, now I know if _I _get mugged, I can count on you to catch the thief for me!" Davis said sheepishly, grinning. I shivered, just now realizing how cold and drenched I was, not to mention coated with mud. I sighed in relief, clutching the bag closely to me and looking up at the sky, thinking of how grateful I was that nothing had happened to Sora's presents.

* * *

A little bell rang as the door shut behind her. Sora took a deep breath in and out, catching a whiff of fresh flowers as she walked toward the back of the store. She gently touched the petals of each flower arrangement with one hand as she passed by, smiling. She was carrying a rectangular box of chocolate with the other.

"Oh, Sora! Grab a white rose from the pot next to you, will you, honey?" she heard a voice from behind the counter. Sora perked up, surprised her mother had known it was her. Obeying, she plucked out the biggest one, smelling its sweet aroma before she set it onto the table, and then proceeded to open her box of chocolates, debating which one to eat first. Sora's mother popped up from behind the counter.

"Oh, sweetie, who gave you those?"

"Matt," Sora replied promptly, focusing on the chocolate with the dark streaks.

Her mother smiled. "That's awfully nice of him. You've got quite a few eyes on you, don't you, young lady?"

Having already stuffed the chocolate in her face, Sora almost choked. "It's just _one guy_, Mom. Plus, we're just friends!" she said, embarrassed.

"Oh, really?" her mother quipped slyly. "Well, Sora, watch the counter for me while I go in the back real quick? Oh, the white rose is for _you, _and the rest of it is also for you behind the cash register."

"Wait, what?" Sora asked, but her mother had already slipped behind the door in the back of the room.

Suspicious, she made her way around the corner, leaving the box of chocolate and white rose on the table counter. She peered behind the cash register, widening her eyes as she spotted a knee-high, white box on the floor. Wrapped tightly with a red bow on top, she lifted the box to set it onto the counter. _No tags, _she thought. She opened her mouth, about to yell for her mother, but she decided against it. _Did she mean this is for me?_

Sora pulled the ribbon, slowly as to preserve its perfection. She lifted open the lid, and gave out a small chuckle as she realized what it was. The first thing she saw was a stuffed Godzilla, wearing some goggles that were obviously oversized for the beast so the straps were wrapped around its neck. She shook her head, laughing and rolling her eyes. This could have come from only one person. _How nice of him to drop this off when he called out sick of school today. That idiot. He should've been in bed the whole day! _

She gave the Godzilla a quick hug, setting him on top of Matt's box of chocolates. She shifted through the tissue paper, finding a heart-shaped box next. Something was scribbled across its cover. Lifting it, she brought it close to her face, squinting to see if she were just seeing things. On the box, the brand, _Godiva Chocolate, _was crossed off with sharpie, and instead written - rather messily, as Sora observed – "Awesome (SorryThey'reNotHomemade) Chocolate." She grinned, then bit her lip to stifle her uncontrollable guffaws.

Crumbling the remaining tissue paper inside the box, Sora was sure there wasn't anything else. She shifted through the little treasure, grabbing what was left of tissue paper and tossing it to the side, until she suddenly touched something with a hard, yet smooth, surface. She did a double take, fixating on what was inside. She pulled out a small, long rectangular sky blue box. Sora lifted its lid open, and a small note quickly fell to the ground, but it didn't immediately occur to her to pick it up. Instead, she was distracted by what remained inside the box. She lifted it up gently, wrapping her fingers around its silver chains. _A necklace? _She thought. She stared in awe as she lifted it toward her eyes, examining its beauty. It glimmered as she traced her fingers along the piece of jewelry, examining the bejeweled bird that was attached onto the necklace. Its wings spread along its side, with its head fiercely pointing upward. It reminded her of Biyomon, a dear, old friend.

"Wow," she whispered to herself. She took a step back in disbelief, having thought he wouldn't bother getting anything for her. She heard a crumpling sound beneath her foot, and gasped. _The note! _She immediately bent down to pick it up, unfolding it.

_To Sora,_

_Hope you like the presents. Please don't get mad at me if you don't like them. Long story short, I had to go through the depths of the darkest ocean and fought against a nasty Ogremon along the way to get them and that's why I got sick. I'll tell you about it someday. Happy White Day._

_Love,  
T__ai_

* * *

I sniffed in loudly, shuddering at the awful taste of snot running down my throat. I sighed, covering myself with my blanket and took in its warmth. I knew that damn lake was contaminated with diseases and germs and – _achoo! _

I wonder if she liked the gifts – or if she even got them by now. I hope her mom told her it was from me. I smiled, closing my eyes. Either way, it was worth tackling Davis. I love the kid but I've always wanted to do that. It'll definitely be worth it if I find out that Sora loved the presents. I wonder if she got any other presents from other guys... I mean, not that it mattered.

Suddenly, I bolted upright. My head was throbbing and I felt my heart pounding as a sinking feeling set inside my thoughts. Aw, crap. Crap, crap, _crap_.

Did I write "Love, Tai" instead of "From, Tai" again?!

* * *

**Author's note: **First, I changed my pen name from DaggerLy2 to remaerd x. Second, thank you for the kind words, Sora Loves Rain & DutchGirl - it lets me know that I should keep going, and that someone out there is taking the time to read about this crazy love story! Much love, I do appreciate it. Thanks to the favorites and follows as well. Please take the time to leave some feedback by reviewing, readers! Oh, and lastly! I did some research on White Day in Japan thanks to my friend, Google, but if anything's inaccurate, I apologize! Next time: The when.


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